Christian Lépine (; born 18 September 1951) is a
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
prelate of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
who has been
Archbishop of Montreal since March 2012, after eight months as an auxiliary bishop there. With the exception of two years working in the
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...
he has spent his entire career in Montreal.
Biography
Christian Lépine was born in Montreal on 18 September 1951. He studied at the
Royal Military College Saint-Jean
The Royal Military College Saint-Jean (), commonly referred to as RMC Saint-Jean and CMR, is a Canadian Military academy, military college and university. It is located on the historical site of Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec), Fort Saint-Jean, in Sai ...
and the
École Polytechnique de Montréal
École or Ecole may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* Éco ...
and then entered the major seminary. He was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
on 7 September 1983, and then served as parish vicar for several years.
He studied theology at the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...
and philosophy at the
Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...
in Rome from 1986 to 1989, earning a licentiate in dogmatic theology.
He served as secretary to Cardinal
Jean-Claude Turcotte
Jean-Claude Turcotte () (26 June 1936 – 8 April 2015) was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal who served as the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Montreal from 1990 to 2012.
Early life and priesthood
Jean-Claude Turcotte was ...
from 1996 to 1998. From 1998 to 2000 he worked in Rome first at the
Secretariat of State and then at the
. From 2001 to 2006 he was a member of the formation staff of the major seminary in Montreal, before becoming pastor of Notre-Dame-des-Champs and Purification-de-la-Vierge-Marie-Bienheureuse.
On 11 July 2011,
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
named him
auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions.
...
of Montreal and
titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of
Zabi.
[
He received his episcopal consecration on 10 September][ from Turcotte.
He served as Episcopal Vicar for Family and Youth.][
On 20 March 2012, Pope Benedict appointed him to succeed Turcotte as Archbishop of Montreal.]
See also
*Catholic Church in Canada
The Catholic Church in Canada is part of the worldwide Catholic Church and has a decentralised structure, meaning each Diocese, diocesan bishop is autonomous but under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and the Canadian Conference of Cathol ...
References
External links
*
Living people
1951 births
Clergy from Montreal
Pontifical Gregorian University alumni
Officials of the Roman Curia
Roman Catholic archbishops of Montreal
Université de Montréal alumni
Canadian Roman Catholic archbishops
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada
Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI
Grand Priors of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
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